Fight Human Trafficking Today
Human trafficking has gained a lot of attention in the international community, and if you look at the statistics there is a good reason why. Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world. Between 600,000 and 820,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders every year. These numbers do not include the thousands, and potentially millions, of individuals who are trafficked within the boundaries of their homelands. Human Trafficking can appear in a variety of ways. This can include forced prostitution, working in strip clubs, forced labor to pay off family debt, or even working in factories.
There is a common myth that human trafficking involves a violent introduction like kidnapping. The truth is many human trafficking experiences do not start this way. Instead, they start with cohesion, manipulation, or false promises. Over time, victims become stuck in a situation that can feel impossible to get out of. Their legal papers may have been forcibly taken from them, they may have their life or their family’s life threatened, or they may be so psychologically manipulated that they become captive to fear and afraid to leave their situation.
No gender, age, or ethnicity is immune to this epidemic. But there are some demographics are that are more vulnerable than others. Possibly the most vulnerable demographic is children, especially children who are unable to attend school. When there is a lack of family income and no access to education, children are placed in susceptible situations. If children are not in school, they are at home participating in household chores from a very young age. They are often sent out from the house to fetch water, or buy food at street markets making them an easy target for perpetrators.
In Haiti, young girls are at the greatest risk of trafficking. Girls are more likely to be kept out of school than boys are. When families have a limited income, and there is no access to free education, parents are more likely to spend their limited income on sending their male children to school.
Keeping girls in school is one of the most effective ways to prevent them from becoming victims of human trafficking. When girls are in school, they are not only kept off of the streets and out of vulnerable situations. They are also empowered and given knowledge and skills that can help remove them from violent and dangerous situations. They are given the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty and abuse and create a new cycle of hope and freedom.
Help fight human trafficking by sponsoring the education of young boys and girls in one of the most trafficked areas in the world, Northern Haiti. Through your donations, hundreds of children are able to receive an education, a daily meal, and a chance at a better tomorrow.